The good news is we now know exactly when we'll be watching the highly-anticipated Alien:Covenant and The Predator in theaters. The bad news is that it's going to be a while. Collider reported this morning that the official release dates for both movies have been set, with Alien: Covenant dropping on Aug. 4, 2017, and The Predator hitting theaters on March 2, 2018.
Alien: Covenant is the direct sequel to the Alien franchise's first prequel, Prometheus, which came out back in 2012. Only a few days ago, it was revealed that Empire's Jussie Smollett would be starring in the film produced by Ridley Scott, alongside Billy Crudup, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo and others. Michael Fassbender is the only Prometheus cast member returning for this one, which picks up 10 years after the events of Prometheus. Here's the official synopsis:
Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
Covenant is also the reason that director Neil Blomkamp's Alien 5, which was rumored to mark the return of Sigourney Weaver to the franchise and be a direct sequel to Aliens, was put on hold (at least according to Blomkamp).
As for The Predator, there isn't nearly as much info yet on the return of the beloved, dreadlocked aliens that love to go hunting. Really all we know is that screenwriter Shane Black (of the Lethal Weapon franchise and Iron Man 3) and Monster Squad director Fred Dekker are handling the script. Fingers crossed for an Archie appearance.
